Facebook
Twitter
Ten Miles Square
Blog
Liberals recently had some fun at the expense of the a new conservative site, the “We are the 53 percent” tumble, which in turn is a response to the popular “We are the 99 percent” site. Here’s Brad DeLong, taking shots at site founder Erick Erickson, and Suzy Khimm made the excellent point that the main reason so many households don’t pay income tax is because of Republican policies, from Reagan to George W. Bush.
All that is true, but the other story in the “53 percent” group is that I’m pretty confident that a substantial portion of them…don’t actually pay income taxes, and therefore are not, in fact, part of the 53 percent of households who do. For example, this citizen claims to be a college senior working “30+ hours a week making just barely over minimum wage.” Which is great and all, but if that’s all he’s got he’s not paying any income tax. Just as a guess, I’d be surprised if any fewer than 10 percent of the posters are actually income-tax free, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s about 50/50.
What I’d be curious about is what some of these folks would say if they realized that they’re not actually part of “the 53 percent.” Of course, to be fair they all do pay taxes; they just — perhaps — don’t pay income taxes.
Hey, reporters! As this “53 percent” thing grows as a conservative talking point, there’s a serious article to be written involving interviews with folks who mistakenly believe that they’re in the half of Americans who pay taxes (and, what’s more, they may also mistakenly believe that they’re in the group that does not receive any government benefits).
[Cross-posted at A plain blog about politics]
Neil B on October 12, 2011 7:21 PM:
Johnathan, you are right to criticize the disingenuous ""53 percent" crowd, but in part for the wrong reasons. The hypocrisy angle is flabby, because for one thing those people you criticize, like the ones they in turn accuse, *do* really pay income taxes. It's time to face down and take down the officially-sanctioned lie that FICA etc. are not "income taxes." Yes, they are. They are charged on income, and they are not put in your own private account - they become part of a mostly PAYGO system to pay *other* people, with a promise to receive more yourself - if you live long enough, if the system stays the same, etc. (And "you benefit" in theory from other taxes too, it's not like all the rest of them are just taken away to never-never land.) And almost everyone pays FICA and Medicare/caid. Furthermore, at least some of the "employer's contribution" half, ends up meaning the employees get paid less anyway than they would.
Warren in 2016!
SYSPROG on October 13, 2011 11:53 AM:
Thank you Jonathan! I posted on Benen's site about these 53%ers...I make $100,000 a year and I am BARELY a 53%er. After pulling everything I possibly can BEFORE taxes, I lower my income then I take every deduction that I possibly can and reduce my income even further. That being said I pay a BOATLOAD of taxes (state, local) and I get tired of hearing from people like Erick Erickson and his corporate parent about the 'unfairness' to the tax code.
paul on October 13, 2011 2:06 PM:
I keep looking at this "53%" garbage and thinking, "Well, gee, if we're in a system where 47% of people get so little income that they only pay FICA, Medicare, sales taxes, use taxes, real estate taxes and excise taxes instead of all these plus Form 1040, maybe we should look into economic and social policies that would, y'know, increase their earned income rather than continuing to hold real wages flat or declining."
Anonymous on October 14, 2011 11:46 AM:
The one that got me is the pretty blond who says her immigrant father has cancer, doc told him to stay home. He went to work anyway, works 72 hours a week and the tumor still grows. Then she says, "This is the American dream." Personally, I believe that's either a clear cut case of Stockholm Syndrome or the beginning of the transformation to corporate serfdom.
Marie Burns on October 16, 2011 12:54 PM:
One of the tasks of the left is to get through to the millions of grievance-obsessed lunkheads who think they are part of the 53 percent and are not. The right has been very clever at making individuals think that they are paying income taxes while their lazy neighbors (or radical socialist hippies) are not.
I don't know just how to do it, but to get a chunk of that 47 percent to understand they are NOT part of the 53 percent could make a big difference in the 2012 elections. The Tea Party movement began as a big wailing grievance against underwater mortgage holders with extra bathrooms -- i.e., the neighboring Jones up with whom they could not keep! -- and quickly spread to an array of other plaints. Erick Erickson's posse, whatever their tax-paying history, would be way better off if they understood they were part of the 99 Percent, not the 53 Percent.
The Constant Weader at http://www.RealityChex.com
BobbyLip on October 17, 2011 11:54 AM:
And what percentage of the "53%" will tell you that their taxes have gone up since Barry O entered office, when in fact for most people taxes have gone down? No matter such obstacles as near-universal literacy and 24-hour "news" channels, we still lead the world in ignorance. And damn proud of it, too!
Redshift on October 17, 2011 3:35 PM:
There's a reason why right-wing media consistently lie and say that the 47% "pay no taxes" when the accurate statistic is "no federal income taxes." It's to keep all these jokers on board who know that they pay taxes, and will never accept that they're among those "deadbeat 47-percenters."
Neil B on October 18, 2011 10:09 AM:
Redshift, I know you and the OP are following an accepted *convention* of usage, but again: the 47 percent *are really* paying income taxes as FICA etc, even if the *convention* doesn't include that in the misleading usage. So let's at least engage in some shared pushback of that misleading phraseology that serves the Top Ones.
Also: indeed, how pitiful so many people don't even know the changes in their own tax rates etc. over recent years. A nation of such buffoons is not headed for a successful future.
PhillyCooke on October 18, 2011 4:29 PM:
A small but crucial point: there are no people who don't receive govenment benefits. If you breathe the air, drink the water, drive the roads, or use the money, then you receive benefit from the government.
rip on October 19, 2011 11:02 PM:
Without a doubt many of these 53%ers are full of crap. I had a household income of 91k last year with a family of four and took the standard deduction for a married couple, exemptions for 4, and got credits for my two kids and "making work pay". The result - just over $6,000 in federal income tax - or less than 7% of my AGI.
Given that the median household income in the United States is something like 54K - I'm sure the amount MOST of these people pay in federal income tax is if not 0 - a token sum at best.
Julie on October 22, 2011 11:43 AM:
This post ends with "Hey reporters! ... "
Too bad that reporters are being laid off left and right, and that what we mostly have now is blogging and commentary.